Support for display panels, mirrors or the like



Oct. 6, 1959 D. L. MAPSON 2,907,537

SUPPORT FOR DISPLAY PANELS, MIRRORS OR THE LIKE Filed Aug. 5, 1955 I7 .53. Ia. 3.

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flrraen/al United States Patent SUPPORT FOR DISPLAY PANELS, MIRRORS OR THE LIKE Donald L. Mapson, Los Angeles, Calif., assiguor to M.& D. Store Fixtures, Inc., a corporation of California Application August '5, 1955, Serial No. 526,707

10 Claims. (Cl. 24828) This invention relates to equipment for displaying merchandise in stores and particularly to a support means for utilizing over-counter posts and wall standards for supporting wall panels, mirrors or the like.

The over-counter posts and wall standards with which the invention is adapted to be employed comprise metal channel members which are equipped with one or two rows of slots for receiving clips and various display accessories which said posts and wall standards are provided to support. Difficulty has heretofore been experienced in utilizing such posts and wall standards in the mounting of mirrors or wall panels thereon and it is a particular object of this invention to provide a set of clips which are suitable for this purpose.

.It is another object of the invention to provide such a set of clips which may be used with equal facility for supporting a standard metal panel, which has flanges bent from the vertical and horizontal edges thereof, a solid fiber panel of one-quarter inch Masonite or like material or a mirror made of one-quarter inch plate glass.

The. manner of accomplishing the foregoing objects as well as further objects and advantages will be made manifest in the following description taken in connection with the accompanying drawings in which Fig. 1 is a face view of a pair of wall standards of the type above mentioned with which a set of clips comprising the preferred embodiment of the present invention are shown associated in supporting a plate glass mirror on said wall standards so that the front face of the mirror lies flush with the front face of said standards.

Fig. 2 is an enlarged horizontal detail sectional view taken on the line L-Z of Fig. 1 and illustrates the upper left clip of a set of four clips employed in supporting said mirror.

Fig.3 is an enlarged vertical detail sectional view taken on the line 3--3 of Fig. 1 which shows the manner in which the upper left clip is secured to a wall standard.

Fig. 4 is ,a perspective view of the clip shown in Figs. 2 and 3. 1

' Fig. 5 is a view similar to Fig. 2 and is taken on the line 5-5 of Fig. 1 and illustrates the lower left clip of the set of the same as this clip appears when supporting a sheet metal wall panel having rearwardly bent side edge flanges.

Fig. 6 is a perspective view of the clip shown in Fig. 5.

Referring specifically to the drawings the invention is there shown as embodied in a panel supporting apparatus 8 including a pair of wall standards 10 and 11 and four clips 12, 13, 14 and 15. These clips are adapted for supporting a sheet metal wall panel 16 or a plate glass mirror 17 or a solid fiber wall panel (not shown) having the same thickness as the mirror 17, with the front face18 of the panel or mirror, thus supported, flush with the front faces 19 of the standards 10 and 11.

The standards 10 and 11 are identical and each is shownrin the drawings ,as made up of a pair of sheet metal channel members 25 placed face to face and secured 2,907,537 Patented Oct. 6, 1959 in this relation by butt-welding. The standards 10 and 11 are secured by screws 26 which pass through suitable aligned apertures provided in the channel members and into a wall 27. These channel members are provided with internal shallow grooves 28 whichextend throughout the length of these channel members and each of the grooves 28 is provided with a line of closed slots 29 which are spaced vertically at regular short intervals. The standards 10 and 11 are mounted inerect position and spaced horizontallyapart a slightly greater distance than the standard width of panel 16 and mirror 17.

Each of the clips 12, 13, 14 and 15 comprises a sheet metal stamping and while these clips have certain features in common they are nevertheless distinctive so that each clip requires separate dies for its manufacture. The clips 12 and 14 are alike in that they areformed from the same blanks but are bent in a reverse manner to each other so as to be applicable on the right and left hand sides of the object to be supported by these n clips. The function of these clips is to embrace opposite side edges of said object to maintain the front face 18 of the latter in flush relation with the front faces 19 of the standards 10 and11. A description of clip 12 will suffice to show the construction of both clips 12 and 14.

Clip 12 includes a body portion 30 from upper and lower portions of the inner edge of which lugs 31 and 32 extend inwardly and downwardly so that the front edges of said lugs are spaced from the rear face of the clip body portion 30 a slightly greater distance than i the thickness of the wall of the channels 25 in the grooves 28 in which the slots 29 are formed. Also formed from the inner edge of the clip body portion 30 is a lug 33 which lies in the same plane as the body portion 30. Formed to extend laterally from an upper portion of the.

. clip body portion 30 and in the plane of said body is a front arm 34. I Bent rearwardly from the body portion 30 below the arms 34 is a rear arm 35, the initial portion 40 of which lies alongside the standard 10, this arm then being bent laterally in a plane parallel with the plane of the front arm 34 to form a portion 41 and is then bent forwardly and laterally to form a portion 42 which is in a vertical plane parallel to that of the front arm 34 and spaced horizontally from the latter a distance slightly greater than the thickness of the mirror 17 to which, as'above noted, the invention may be optionally applied for supporting.

.The portion 41 of rear arm 35 of clip 12 lies in a plane which is spaced horizontally from the plane of the front arm 34 a slightly greater distance than the width of the side flanges 43 which are bent rearwardly from standard sheet metal panels 16 with which the invention may be optionally used. It is also to be noted that the rear arm 35 extends laterally a slightly greater distance than the front arm 34, the purpose of which will he made clear hereinafter.

As above stated, the clip 14 is a reverse duplicate of the clip 12 as the latter is above described. These clips are adapted to be mounted on the standards 10 and 11 in the manner shown in the upper portion of Fig. 1 and in Figs. 2 and 3 where it is seen that the lugs 32 are extended rearwardly through a selected pair of the slots 29 until the body portions 3% of these clips lie flush against the front faces 19 of the standards it and 11,

, after which these clips are shifted downwardly to hook the lugs 31 and 32 over the lower edges of said slots. When this is done, as shown in Fig. 2, the lug 33 of each clip engages the front face 19 on the opposite side of the plane of the lugs 31 and 32 from the body 30, thereby preventing rotation of the clips 12 and 14 which would swing the arms 34 forwardly.

The rear faces of the arms 34 are thus held substantially in the plane of the front faces 19 of said standards. With the clips 12 and 14 thus mounted on the standards 1 and 11 at the same level 'and in opposed relation as shown iffFig. "1 these clips are adapted to receive -and held a panel'ormir'r'or' as'above described with-'thefroiit face 18 6f the latter flush with'tlie'fron't face'19 "of the standards and '11.' The clips 12 and 14 do not support theweight "of the panel or mirror, this function being performed by theclips 13 "and 15 in a manner to be later pointed out Theclips 12 and 14'mere1' guide and fosition the panel or mirror, side edge portions of whic'h are disposed within these clips. I-fi't is a'mir'ror'17 or'a solid fiber panel of like thick: ness which the invention is" 'eniployedto support on the standards and 11, this snugly fits just within the portions 40 of the clips '12 and14 a'nd'betwfeen the'front affirm: and the portions 42 of the rear arms 35"o'f these clips" as clearl'y'shown in Fig.' 2. where the inventiori'is used to support a sheet metal panel'16 having rearwardly 'bent side flanges'43, the latter fit closely within the'clip portions 40 and into the angle between the portions 40 and 41 of clips 12 and 14 seas to contribute' towards preventing forwardrotation of these clips about the lugs 31 and 32. i i Thelowe'r' clips 13 and '15 of the'in'v'ention constitute a pair of positioning and supporting clips for the wall panel'or mirror which the invention is adapted'td support with its front face'fiu'sh with the front face; 419 ofithe standards 10 and 11. The clips 13 and '15 are made from the same blanks but are be'nt'in reverse conformationso'as to be suitable for application'tothe'ri'ght and left sides of the object to besupp'o'rted. A description of the'clip '13 will s'ufiice for both of these clips. The clip 13 is similar in construction to clip- 12 in that it has a body portion 50, lugs 51 and 52'a'r1da lug 53 which are identical with corresponding parts of the clip 12 and operate identically in the same manner when used (as above described for clip 12) for mountingthe'clip 1'3'on'the standard 10. The clip 13 also has a*fr'ont arm 54 which extends laterally from a lower portion of the body portion 50 and lies against the front face of the wall'panel or mirror to be supported by the invention.

. Clip 13 also has a rear arm 55 which has'exactly the'sarne shape and performs'the same functions as the rear arm 35 of the clip 12. The clip 13 is distinguished from the clip 12 in that the rear arm 55 thereof is disposed above the front arm 54 and in that the latter arm has a flange 56 bent inwardly from the lower edge'thereof so as to underlie and provide a support for the adjacent side portion of the panel 16 or mirror 17 being supported by the invention. Inasmuch as the clip is a reverse dupl'icate of the clip 13 these two clips thus support opposite side portions of the panel or mirror supported by' the invention while at the same time aligning the portions of said panel or mirror engaged thereby so as to bring the front face 18 thereof into flush relation with the front faces 19 of the standards 10 and 11.

Because of the similarity in the dimensions of a plate glass mirror and a solid fiber panel with which theinvention is adapted to be optionally employed, it will be understood, whenever the invention isde'fined in the olairnsas adapted for use with a solid fiber'panel, that it is equally adapted for use Witha plate glass mirror. It is also to be understoo'dthat the term wall panel, when used in the claims without qualifications, refers tde'i'ther a sheet metal wall panel, a solid fiber wall panel or a plate glass mirror. i

The'claims are: 7

1.111 a support for a wall panel, the combination of: a standard comprising a sheet metal channel adapted to be mounted in erect position with a flat nan: face thereof lying in substantially the same plane as the front face said wall panel is to lie in when supported by'said standard, said front' face of said standard "having a line w re? 4 of narrow closed slots provided therein, said slots being spaced at close vertical intervals; and a pair of clips adapted to be mounted in vertically spaced relation on said standard to support and position one side of such a wall panel, each of said clips having a body portion lying flat against said front face of said standard with a pair of lugs extending rearwardly and downwardly from the inner edge of said body portion so that said lugs maybe extended rearwardly through two 'of said slots and then the clip lowered, thereby causing said lugs to lock the clip insupportedrelation on said standard; each'of said clips'also having a front cornprisinga' lateral extension of said body portion and lying in the"'s'arne plane'to'overlie and engage the front face of said wall panel, and a rear arm bent rearwardly from said clip body portion to lie close alongside said standard and then bent laterally to extend close behind said wall panel to engage the latter on its rear face, said front arm of the lower clip of said 'pair' of clips being disposed below therear armof said lower'cl'ip and "having are'arwardly be'nt lower edge portion which extends b'elow' thelower edge of said wall panel to pres/idea support for the latter. 2? A combination as in claim 1"including "another standard which is'a duplicateof'said first standarda'nd which "is adapted to "be mountedd'n erect "p'o'si't'iondn parallel spaced relation therewith; andfanothr'pair of clips substantially like said firstp air ofclip s but reversel'y formed so as to be'mounted on said second standard and extendtowards the first recited' clips'and" "on'the sarne' respective levelstherewith for cooperatingther with in positioning and supporting the opposite bide portion of a wall panel, whereby latter {will be sup ported on said two pairs of'clips with itsf ront face substantially'flush with the front faces of said standards. 31 A combination as in claim 1 in which said' r'ear arrns of said clips extend rear wardly from thefront arias thereof so as to accommodate side edge flange s e met a an wh h is su stan a Wi h n the kns a olid fiber fw l pails p pns of said rear arms then being bent f ava'r'dlyito nate'in a plane which is spaced fr A i said front arms approximately the ,th' knees of a solid fiber wall panel wherebysaid clipsirr'iaypptionally receive, p sit and ppor d e epqrti n o the! a sheet metal all pane or "a Sen fiber pan pa 1. 4. A structure for's'upportin'g a flat panel compris an erect standard, said'sta'nda'rd having ailafif'ront I I provided'wvith a'verti'cal r'ow of slots separated bya row area from an adjacent edge of said standard'fa clip comprising a' she et metal stanipinghaving bodyportion, a pair of'down-hooking lu'gs' bentlat right ali ns rearwardly from a vertical'edge of said body'pb'itiOn so that said clip may be moved to extendsaid tags rearwardly through two of said slots to bring said clip body portion into a position in which lies flat-against said standard and covers section of said area; the flowering of said clipwhen so positioned causing said lugs to lock the clip on said standard in supported rel 6n therewith, said clip also havinga front arm compr sing a lateral extension of said clip body portion lying the plane thereof and extending away frorn said standard, and a rear arm bent rearwardly from said clip body P pn a a right a l th re i h .tQ ex en be we Said S a rd d d a d P e a d rea .arml h being b laterally aw om s d vs an a to en a e the Pan om e r r and oape a e w th sa d from arm in holding said panel in said juxtaposed relation with said standard.

5. A combination as in claim 4 in which the front arm is provided with a flange bentfroin thebottbm edge thereof andextending beneathsaid'panel to su" ort arm a sulficient distance to accommodate a rearwardly extending side flange of a sheet metal Wall panel which is substantially wider than the thickness of a solid fiber wall panel, said rear arm then being bent laterally and forwardly to terminate at a vertical plane which is spaced rearwardly from the rear face of said front arm so as to snugly receive therebetween a solid fiber wall panel.

7. A panel clip comprising a sheet metal stamping having a fiat body portion lying in a given vertical plane when said clip is in use; a pair of hook lugs bent rearwardly from one side edge of said body portion to lie at right angles with said plane, said lugs extending downwardly to provide support for said clip when the latter is in use; a pocket member bent rearwardly from the opposite side edge of said body at a right angle with said body and then rebent in the opposite direction to form a rear arm extending generally parallel with said plane and spaced rearwardly therefrom; and a front arm lying in said plane and formed by an extension of said body portion into vertically ofiset, parallel relation with said rear arm, said member and said arms forming a pocket adapted to receive and rigidly position a vertical edge portion of a panel.

8. A clip as recited in claim 7 in which the connection between said front arm and said clip body is below that between said pocket member and said body; and a flange bent rearwardly from the lower edge of said front arm to extend beneath and support a panel received by said pocket.

9. A combination as in claim 7 in which said pocket member extends rearwardly from said vertical plane a suficient distance to accommodate a side edge flange on a sheet metal wall panel which is substantially Wider than the thickness of a solid fiber wall panel, a portion of said rear arm being bent forwardly to terminate in a portion spaced from said vertical plane approximately the thickness of said solid fiber wall panel whereby the pocket of said clip may optionally receive and position a side edge portion of either a sheet metal Wall panel, or a solid fiber panel.

10. A combination as in claim 9 in which the connection between said front arm and said clip body is below that between said pocket member and said body; and a flange bent rearwardly from the lower edge of said front arm to extend beneath and support a panel received by said pocket.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 

